Think Americans have become more politically polarized? Think again!

The conventional wisdom these days is that political polarization in America has become significantly more pronounced in recent years.

But in this matter, as in others, conventional wisdom is not necessarily correct, as Morris Fiorina explains HERE:

The Pew Research Center recently released a report describing two decades of change in American public opinion. Much of the data—especially the striking graphical presentations—will find their way into college classrooms in the fall, including my own. But the numerous calls and e-mails I have received from political journalists testify to widespread misunderstanding of the report’s findings.

Although the report bears the title “Political Polarization in the American Public,” this is an inaccurate characterization of the findings. In common parlance polarization connotes a movement away from the center toward both extremes. This has not happened in the United States. If one thinks about polarization in partisan terms, one would expect to see an increase in the proportions of Democrats and Republicans and a decrease in the proportion of independents. But the American National Election Studies report that the distribution of American partisanship has been constant since the reelection of Ronald Reagan in 1984. Gallup had the proportion of independents at an all-time high in 2013.

If one thinks about polarization in ideological terms, one would expect to see a decline in moderates and an increase in liberals and conservatives. But the General Social Survey reports that the distribution of ideology in the United State has been stable since the early 1970s. With occasional small exceptions, “moderate” remains the modal category today just as it was in the days of Jimmy Carter.

The conventional wisdom these days is that political polarization in America has become significantly more pronounced in recent years.

But in this matter, as in others, conventional wisdom is not necessarily correct, as Morris Fiorina explains HERE:

The Pew Research Center recently released a report describing two decades of change in American public opinion. Much of the data—especially the striking graphical presentations—will find their way into college classrooms in the fall, including my own. But the numerous calls and e-mails I have received from political journalists testify to widespread misunderstanding of the report’s findings.

Although the report bears the title “Political Polarization in the American Public,” this is an inaccurate characterization of the findings. In common parlance polarization connotes a movement away from the center toward both extremes. This has not happened in the United States. If one thinks about polarization in partisan terms, one would expect to see an increase in the proportions of Democrats and Republicans and a decrease in the proportion of independents. But the American National Election Studies report that the distribution of American partisanship has been constant since the reelection of Ronald Reagan in 1984. Gallup had the proportion of independents at an all-time high in 2013.

If one thinks about polarization in ideological terms, one would expect to see a decline in moderates and an increase in liberals and conservatives. But the General Social Survey reports that the distribution of ideology in the United State has been stable since the early 1970s. With occasional small exceptions, “moderate” remains the modal category today just as it was in the days of Jimmy Carter.